


Things Are Looking Up

by Enneagram7 (NotALoveStory)



Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: Adam Groff getting the love and support he deserves, Feelings, Fluff, I just really want season 3, M/M, Sex Education, and this is how I'm managing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24227746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotALoveStory/pseuds/Enneagram7
Summary: In season 2, we saw Adam keep trying to be a better person... and then the world constantly knocking him down. I wanted to see his luck turn around, featuring smiles, supportive friends, and, of course, his lovely boyfriend. So that's what I wrote!
Relationships: Eric Effiong/Adam Groff
Comments: 3
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Adam is back at Moordale! And he makes an unlikely friend in gym class.
> 
> I really want to see these two become friends in the next season! What a powerful (attractive) combination. Thanks for reading :)

Adam’s POV

He normally didn’t run the mile in gym, but this time he was done early. Really early. Between going on runs just to get out of the house and military school before that, Adam had gotten pretty fast. As he crossed the finish line and slowed to a jog, he became aware of a presence behind him. He turned to see Jackson who had also just finished the race. Adam smirked. Okay, maybe he had gotten _really_ fast. He started to head for the drinking fountain.

And Jackson, having the same idea, came up to jog alongside him. Jackson paused to catch his breath before saying,

“Hey man, I didn’t know you could run.”

Adam stopped himself from grinning. Instead, he nodded, saying, “Yeah, this is my first time running in high school... I uh, refused to every year before.”

Jackson smiled at that.

Jackson’s POV

“I mean, we tied man. Hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to have to blame it on your freakishly long legs,” he joked, and to his surprise, Adam chuckled a bit.

As they approached the fountain, Adam slowed down and gestured for him to go first. Jackson had to stop himself from looking confused. Was this really the guy who used to shove freshman into lockers? For no reason? Jackson obliged instead, stepping forward to take a drink. He had had a front row seat to Adam’s display at the musical. Needless to say, he knew the guy had changed. As Jackson stood up from the drinking fountain, he looked to Adam. He was now leaning against the wall, sweating furiously, and waiting patiently for his turn. Jackson tried to get a read on Adam, but the man somehow always managed to looked unamused.

Jackson started, “You know, we always seem to meet in the weirdest situations.”

Adam’s POV

Adam was confused for a second, and began thinking back. The only time he could remember Jackson speaking to him was during his grand gesture at the musical. Oh, and that one time he broke Aimee’s grandma’s urn over Kyle’s head.

“Yeah, you could say that,” he replied before stooping down to take a drink.

He was surprised to see that Jackson was still there when he stood back up. Apparently Jackson was cool with talking to him. This doesn’t happen much.

“Well, I guess you went to a lot of the swim meets,” Jackson added.

Adam glared, responding quickly with, “Yeah, well, maybe I just like swimming.”

Jackson’s POV

Huh. Defensive about swimming. And why would that be? Why else would Adam go to swim meets if not for swimming? To see someone? He never saw Aimee there and that was his girlfriend at the time... Then it hit him. Headmaster Groff. Always hugging him and giving him praise. He had known Mr. Groff was just buttering him up, making sure he continued to perform well. It wasn’t until Mr. Groff had broken their deal to let Maeve stay that Jackson understood just how nasty the man could be. And he was Adam’s father. Jackson had seen their blow up at the school dance. He knew Adam had been sent to military school. Needless to say, the two had a horrible relationship. Adam wanted, maybe needed, that attention. Jackson couldn’t help but feel bad for Adam, it just seemed like the guy couldn’t catch a break.

“You know, my mums said Mr. Groff would do anything for sports funding. They said that after every time he congratulated me.”

Adam’s POV

Well, Jackson had seen through him at an alarming rate. Maybe Adam was getting worse at hiding this kind of stuff... wait. Jackson had just tried to comfort him. Adam let his defenses fall a bit at that. Last term it would have meant the world to hear those words, that the affection his father was so readily giving to Jackson was in itself a lie. Transactional, in a way. It would have made it hurt a little less. Now, Adam had begun to work though some of those issues with his father. Well, on his own, at least. All this thought, for Adam to reply,

“Sounds about right." Well, wait a second, Jackson deserved more than that. He was getting played here too, wasn't he? And it wasn't Jackson's fault that Adam's dad was giving him all that attention, no matter how much the old Adam wanted to think so. He had just wanted to be mad at someone, anyone else. Why not this guy, who was better than Adam in every way imaginable? Anyway, new Adam wasn't going to let that fly. "That must have sucked," he added, "He kind of used you."

"Yeah well, my parents are supportive enough, so it was 'aight. Also, I don't have to worry about that anymore, do I? No more swimming for me," Jackson grinned.

"And no more of my dad," Adam added, maybe a little too smug.

The two began sluggishly walking back to the rest of their gym class. There were a couple more people done now, but the remainder of class was going to be spent waiting for the walkers to finish up.

Jackson’s POV

Olive branch accepted, it seemed. Should he risk it? Take a jab at what he was really thinking?

“I think it was really cool what you did, brave even. For Eric.”

Adam snapped his head in Jackson’s direction, immediately sussing him out. Jackson realized he was trying to decide if he was being made fun of. Some of the guys in school were dicks, to say the absolute least. In fact,

“Those guys are dicks,” Jackson said, no anger attached, just like he was stating a fact.

Adam’s POV

The corner of Adam’s mouth raised into a half smile, he couldn't help it. He was starting to like Jackson, against all odds. Once again, he wasn’t sure what to say exactly, but he appreciated what Jackson was doing, reaching out. He nodded a few times. Adam could tell that Jackson meant what he said.

Maybe he could add another friend to his short list... of one. But hey, things were really looking up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam finds himself in a place he never imagined: a movie night surrounded by friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of the Adventures of Adam Groff™️ post season 2. 
> 
> I got the idea for this chapter when I realized that Adam hasn't told anybody why he got kicked out of military school. And then from theorizing why he decided not to.

Adam can’t help but sit back and gaze around the room at his friends. His four new, and pretty much _only_ , friends. New Kid had a real nice house, and he, Eric, Maeve, Otis, Ola, and Lily were all lounging in his living room. They had just finished watching the movie 1917, and their conversation was scattered across the room. Adam wasn’t really listening to anyone though. He was content, sitting there on the couch, Eric snuggled up against him with his head resting on his chest. He had wrapped his arm around Eric about an hour ago, enjoying getting comfortable. Now Adam’s backside and legs were getting achey, tired of sitting in the same spot for so long. He was considering moving when he heard the heavy exhales of his boyfriend. Yeah, Adam wouldn’t be moving any time soon.

His thoughts shifted back to the people around him. Adam had never had someone call him a “friend” before. But within a few months of returning to Moordale, he was a changed man. It was mostly because of his boyfriend, Eric, so energetic and always up for a chat. They were so different in that way. Eric had brought it up once, back when they were first starting to get to know each other.

“Ok, this is a straight forward question,” Eric warned, “but is there a reason you get so quiet?”

Eric had seen how Adam behaved before his problems with his dad had erupted, resulting in Adam being sent off to military school. Adam had been aggressive and bold at times, sure. And, he was usually high. But he could also be a bit silly, sometimes just straight out odd, and overall talkative. That couldn’t have _all_ been the weed, right? So what had changed?

Adam paused for a moment, taking the time to reflect for Eric. Staring directly at the floor, he answered,

“I don’t know. I think about stuff a lot more now. I’ve never been the best with words, so if I do say anything, it’s just the truth.... besides, most of what I would say doesn’t matter, really.”

Eric looked confused, “Why do you say that?”

“It’s just me.”

Eric looked at him incredulously, urging him on. It was like pulling teeth.

"I don't know! It's just me! So no one cares."

Eric's expression had softened a but at that. He had looked at Adam with his beautiful brown eyes, and Adam had seen some hurt in them. It was like what Adam had said had pained Eric on some level. Or maybe like Eric had felt his pain. Eric had reached out, put his hand on Adam’s leg, and said in a soft and serious voice,

“I care what you have to say. It can be anything: new ideas, silly comments, what you’re feeling, your passions; anything and everything. I care.”

As cheesy as it sounds, it had inspired Adam. He began contributing to conversations a lot more after that, especially when Eric was around. Eric made him feel comfortable just by being near. No, it was more than that. He made him feel _valued_.

**“Why did you get kicked out of military school, Adam?”**

Lily's words cut through his thoughts like a samurai sword. As well as everyone else’s, as it seemed. Everyone got quiet for a second. Perhaps their thoughts on the movie had slowly morphed into military talk? Whatever, it didn’t matter now.

Otis’s mouth hung agape, as his conversation with Maeve had halted mid word. Maeve’s eyes held a flash of uncertainty. She didn’t cross personal boundaries, hoping people would return the favor. But she was curious, everyone was. Ola, immediately turned to Lily, who was completely oblivious to the bluntness of the question. The answer being one that Adam had never shown interest in offering up. All of this emotion stirred in a matter of five seconds. And to Adam, that was already too long for everyone to be staring at him.

Ola was the first to jump in, “Lily! Um, Adam, you don’t have to answer that,” she said with nervous laughter.

“What?” Lily said as she turned to look around the room.

Adam cleared his throat lightly, careful to not wake Eric, “No, it’s ok–,” he started.

But he stopped short, his confidence failing. The old Adam would have built up his defenses, given some witty reply, and gotten the hell out of there. But he didn't need to do that anymore, not here, with these people. It's just that Adam had never told anyone this particular story, it hit too close to home. The fact that the old him would've run for the hills, that was enough to convince him, he was going to open up about it. His gaze fell to Eric whose eyes were still shut. In fact, Eric’s mouth was open and he had drooled a bit on Adam’s shirt. The corner of Adam’s mouth pinched up, _so much for his social support system_. 

He took a deep breath, and continued, “It’s ok. Um, yeah, so I was framed.”

Any polite disinterest the group was posing before completely evaporated. The four looked to Adam in anticipation. He knew he didn’t have to tell them. But he had never told anyone, and suddenly he felt as if a force was driving the story out. Or maybe it was just guilt.

“I made two, uh... I met these two guys. They always hung out with each other, joked around a lot. They helped me learn a drill. And one night they woke me up to sneak out and have a smoke. It was nice I... I thought I was fitting in. Making friends... I was wrong.”

Adam was aware of how sad that sounded, but he didn’t care. It was his truth. He was also aware that this was the most he had consecutively said to the group. But it was like he had turned on a faucet, and there was no turning it off. His thoughts flowed freely.

“I walked in on them. Yah know.......... I walked in on them wanking each other off.” Whatever the group had thought Adam was going to say, it was not _“wanking each other off_.” They reacted with various levels of surprise. Except Lily, who seemed wildly more interested.

Eric suddenly began to stir from his position, before finally sitting up and staring at Adam. He was still sleepy, but Adam guessed he had been listening in on the conversation.

"You're seriously just waking up for the wanking bit?" Adam teased, and got small laughs out of both Ola and Otis. However, Eric seemed solely focused on the seriousness of Adam's story.

"Ok, haha very funny... But then what happened?" Eric encouraged. God, Adam really _loved_ his social support system.

“They were scared. They didn’t want to get caught, didn’t want anyone to know. But I knew. And, and I told them I wouldn’t tell anyone, but that wasn’t enough. So they planted weed under my pillow.” Adam cleared his throat again. He looked to Eric, who was momentarily stunned, eyes gone comically wide. Everyone was quiet for a second, before Maeve piped up,

“Did you fight it?”

Adam took a deep breath, “I reacted by saying it wasn’t mine, I said that those guys had planted it but... the officer asked why they would frame me and......”

Eric spoke up for him, “You couldn’t bring yourself to out them.”

Adam looked down at his lap. He took a deep breath before continuing, “I uh... when I saw my parents at the car, there to pick me up, I weighed my options. And I failed. I told the lieutenant walking me out that they were poofs. And he said 'There are quite a lot of us in this institution' and that I was found with drugs in my possession, so... I was out.”

Ola walked over to Adam without hesitation, giving him a big hug. “It’s ok Adam. You were in such a complicated situation and you did what was right, and then eventually, what was best for you. You shouldn’t hold that against yourself.” She said before letting go and sitting next to him on the armrest of the couch.

“Ola’s right. And you were going through a lot at the time," Eric said, wrapping his arms around Adam's middle,"I'm sorry, that whole situation just sounds terrible..... why didn't you mention this before?"

"Uh... I decided to stop making excuses for myself," Adam looked up, realizing everyone now looked really confused, so he expanded further. "My dad may be an asshole, but he was right about a few things. I always made excuses, never said I was sorry. 'S not healthy. So I decided that I would stop... But then Eric taught me that my story isn't just an excuse... that people care for me."

"Ok, _there's_ that sweet side I've heard so much about!" Maeve practically yelled, teasing a bit, but in the best way possible.

"And of course we care, we're your friends," Lily added.

"Seriously, that is so sweet. And true! Can we all start a group hug now?" Ola laughed.

"No! No. That's enough, thank you," Adam said with a small laugh. "And, to be honest about everything, my life had been a continuous shit show up to that point. In the end, I understand why those guys did what they did. I was probably more mad at the situation than them,” he said shaking his head. He looked straight at Eric as he said the next bit, his voice somehow growing even softer,

“And looking back, I’m glad I was sent back home. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

It was the happy ending everyone wanted to hear, and the weight lifted from the room. You know, as much as he didn’t like being in the spotlight, it was nice to just talk. To get it all out there, and to people he trusted. People who truly cared and made him feel better. Adam thought back to last year and how he would have never shared that story with anyone. How he had had no one to share it with. Today, he had people, and although they were not aware of all his struggles, they were well aware of how far he'd come. And their admiration for Adam only grew from day to day.

And well Eric, Eric loved him.

Things really were looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some good, sad moments of healing :) We love to see it. I know Adam was arguably out of character, but I would love to see him make this much progress in season 3 (and then he can stay in a happy and healthy relationship with Ericccc). 
> 
> Most importantly: the hesitation Adam shows throughout this chapter is from years of being told his story does not matter. Mr. Groff constantly berated him, and made him feel as though his words were meaningless. As you can see, this is not true. People care. Your story matters.
> 
> And finally, feel free to leave any comments or suggestions you have below!


End file.
